The classification system
of Saint - Emilion wines
has the characteristic of being subject to revision. In
fact, this statement is not just a simple line that thickens some
kind of agreement from decades ago but a reality that has been
implemented, approximately every ten years, and which has its
consequences. However, after the 2006 revision there were only 5
years until the new one which took place in 2011, when it was
decided to review all the classification again.

The 2012 classification regulation was approved in June
last year and it took into account no more and no less
than eighty-two different wine properties. This comprehensive
review resulted in almost a year of work against the clock (i.e.
ten months uninterrupted).

This constant effort to find the overall quality
and the high level of demand reveals the level of perfection
pursued. In fact, in other sub-regions in Bordeaux this
constant evaluation does not exist. Specifically the overall
classification of this region remains almost unchanged since the
nineteenth century, oddly enough, when it was requested by
Emperor Napoleon III for the Universal Exhibition in Paris in
1855.

The point is that nor everybody is always happy with this
kind of decisions and so after the changes some voices
have been raised. Many wines have emerged strengthened, others
got benefit from the new classification but of course, some have
been demoted and losing positions, prestige ... perhaps
customers?

In total 18 Premier Grand Cru Classé and 64 Grand Cru
Classé are tangible proof of the modernity and dynamism
of Saint Emilion wines that stand out from others in the pursuit
of excellence.

The result is consistent quality that is seen not only in
their best wines, those which occupy the top spots, but
also in all those which each year strive to achieve the top of
the ranking and work for it with a special pampering in the way
they take care of the soils, in their choice of grapes, in short,
all that precious process that runs until wine is made.

I encourage those who have never bought a wine from this region
to do so and, for that matter, to accompany their
shopping cart with some other French wine, in order to
review the new classification of Saint Emilion wine while
comparing them to the ones from other French regions with a glass
of wine in hand, which is the best way to start a conversation
like this.